HOUSTON — Houston has always had a talent for taking a culinary tradition, adding a little 713 attitude, and sending it back into the world with more flavor. Burger Bodega has built an entire brand around that instinct. Now the Houston-born smashburger favorite is taking its first major step beyond its Washington Avenue home, opening its second location — and first-ever expansion — in Katy on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at 11 a.m.

Located at 21904 Franz Road, the new Burger Bodega represents a milestone for chef-owner Abbas Dhanani, a Houston native and University of Houston Bauer College graduate who transformed a food-focused social-media following into one of the city’s most recognizable burger concepts. The Katy restaurant will seat just over 100 guests, offer patio dining and feature a dedicated curbside pickup window.

The story has been cooking for years.

Burger Bodega began as a Houston pop-up in 2021, drawing crowds with thin, crispy-edged smashburgers and a concept inspired by New York City’s neighborhood bodegas. In November 2022, Dhanani graduated from pop-up entrepreneur to restaurateur when Burger Bodega opened its first permanent home at 4520 Washington Avenue.

The little shop quickly became a very big Houston food story.

Former Houston Chronicle restaurant critic Alison Cook awarded Burger Bodega an enthusiastic A-plus, praising the execution of its signature double smashburger. The restaurant went on to land among the Chronicle’s 10 Best New Restaurants of 2022 and Top 100 Restaurants of 2025. It won Best Burger at the 2023 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, followed by Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year in 2024, while its original build-out also earned recognition at the 2023 Houston Business Journal Landmark Awards.

That is a mighty résumé for a restaurant built around the democratic beauty of beef, cheese, onions, pickles, sauce and a potato bun.

And Katy is not getting a watered-down suburban sequel.

The menu will mirror the Washington Avenue original, led by the double smashburger, New York-style chopped cheese sandwiches, fries and milkshakes. Its beef is halal, broadening the restaurant’s appeal in Greater Houston’s increasingly diverse dining landscape. Signature shakes including mango lassi and Vietnamese coffee add the kind of cultural remix that could only feel completely natural in Houston.

The grand-opening celebration will also feature a local vendor market, giving opening day the feel of a neighborhood block party rather than merely another ribbon cutting — fitting for a brand that has always treated community as part of the menu.

For Dhanani, the expansion is also a salute to the customers who supported Burger Bodega before there was a permanent restaurant at all.

“Katy has been on our radar since day one,” Dhanani said, describing the area as a vibrant, food-loving community and thanking those who supported Burger Bodega from its backyard pop-up days.

That history matters.

Houston’s most interesting restaurant stories often begin small: a family recipe, food truck, pop-up, borrowed kitchen, social-media following or simply a dream financed one order at a time. Burger Bodega’s journey from pop-up to award-winning storefront to its first expansion is another reminder that Houston food culture is about more than what lands on the plate.

It is about entrepreneurship, cultural fusion, neighborhood loyalty and betting on a good idea.

On September 19, Katy gets its turn at the counter.

And judging by Burger Bodega’s history, arriving hungry would be a very good idea.

GRAND OPENING DETAILS

Burger Bodega — Katy
Saturday, September 19, 2026 | 11 a.m.
21904 Franz Road, Katy, Texas

BurgerBodega.com
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